The Honda CB650 is a

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

produced from 1979 to 1985. It featured a

four-cylinder The engine configuration describes the fundamental operating principles by which internal combustion engines are categorized. Piston engines are often categorized by their cylinder layout, valves and camshafts. Wankel engines are often categorize ...

SOHC An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion cha ...

air-cooled Air-cooled engines rely on the circulation of air directly over heat dissipation fins or hot areas of the engine to cool them in order to keep the engine within operating temperatures. In all combustion engines, a great percentage of the heat ge ...

wet sump Within piston engines, a wet sump is part of a lubrication system whereby the crankcase sump is used as an integral oil reservoir. An alternative system is the dry sump, whereby oil is pumped from a shallow sump into an external reservoir.Wet sum ...

engine, with two valves per cylinder. The CB650 was a development of the CB550, itself derived from the even earlier CB500. The CB650 was the last of

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...

's successful series of air-cooled SOHC fours that began in 1969 with the Honda CB750.

Model development

For cost-saving purposes, the CB650 was designed to be produced on the same production line as its CB550 predecessor, using the existing tooling. The CB650's

cylinder block In an internal combustion engine, the engine block is the structure which contains the cylinders and other components. In an early automotive engine, the engine block consisted of just the cylinder block, to which a separate crankcase was attac ...

was a new design, but it shared the stud holes of the earlier bike, which may explain why the bike could not be a full ''650cc'' machine. Likewise, the frame was almost identical to that of the CB550. Handlebar levers and instruments (

speedometer A speedometer or speed meter is a gauge that measures and displays the instantaneous speed of a vehicle. Now universally fitted to motor vehicles, they started to be available as options in the early 20th century, and as standard equipment f ...

and

tachometer A tachometer (revolution-counter, tach, rev-counter, RPM gauge) is an instrument measuring the rotation speed of a shaft or disk, as in a motor or other machine. The device usually displays the revolutions per minute (RPM) on a calibrated anal ...

) were also carried over from the earlier model. The CB650 produced a claimed @ 9,000 rpm. In 1980, the CB650 was re-styled but there were no significant mechanical changes. After 1981, the CB650 had a modified cylinder head and new CV vacuum carburettors, and the bike was now available in either Standard or

custom Custom, customary, or consuetudinary may refer to: Traditions, laws, and religion * Convention (norm), a set of agreed, stipulated or generally accepted rules, norms, standards or criteria, often taking the form of a custom * Norm (social), a r ...

configurations. The latter had "cruiser" styling with a teardrop tank, chromed air-box, and smaller side covers. The 1980–1982 Standard model featured 4-into-2 exhaust pipes, a black plastic headlight nacelle, and wire-spoked wheels. The custom model featured 4-into-4 exhaust,

Comstar wheels The Comstar wheel, sometimes referred to as Com-stars or stylised as ComStar, was a composite motorcycle wheel that Honda fitted to many of its motorcycles from 1977 to the mid 1980s. Its design allowed it the option of being fitted with tubele ...

, a chrome headlight nacelle, and in 1981, dual disc front brakes and air-assisted forks. A second generation model was produced from 1982 to 1985. In 1982, replacing the

Custom Custom, customary, or consuetudinary may refer to: Traditions, laws, and religion * Convention (norm), a set of agreed, stipulated or generally accepted rules, norms, standards or criteria, often taking the form of a custom * Norm (social), a r ...

, the new

Nighthawk The nighthawk is a nocturnal bird of the subfamily Chordeilinae, within the nightjar family, Caprimulgidae, native to the western hemisphere. The term "nighthawk", first recorded in the King James Bible of 1611, was originally a local name i ...

featured a re-designed tank and side covers, while the 1982 Standard model remained largely unchanged. In 1983, the SOHC engine was replaced by a new rubber-mounted

DOHC An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion c ...

engine featuring hydraulic valve-lash adjusters; and final drive was changed from chain to shaft-drive. File:Honda CB650 black.jpg, CB650 standard, two-up File:CB650C.jpg, CB650C Custom

References

CB650 Standard motorcycles Motorcycles introduced in 1979 {{motorcycle-stub

Model development

See also

References